Bruins Shut Senators Out

Sorry for my absence here on Black, White and Gold. I've been working a writing contract that has kept me really busy and unable to do regular updates. Although, maybe that's for the best, given that the B's last four games have all been losses, and nobody really wants to read my stream of invectives.

Tonight's game against the Senators was what you could euphemistically call a 'defensive battle', but more accurately position as a game between two teams that cannot score.

Tim Thomas got the start tonight (which makes sense), but I was startled to see that Timmy is one game under .500 in his wins and losses, and his GAA is creeping up. It has not been a bad season for Thomas, but it certainly has been inconsistent, and his play of late has added a touch more heart-in-mouth-syndrome than usual. Tonight, however, Thomas was his usual spring-loaded self, and gained the shutout despite a couple of close calls.

The game was tied 0-0 going into the third period, when Patrice Bergeron was finally able to capitalize on a fat rebound to put the Bruins ahead by a goal. About 4 minutes later, Marco Sturm was given a great breakaway feed by Marc Savard, and he potted the Bruins' second of the night. It was all the B's would need for the win.

The Bruins' powerplay was, again, absolutely abhorrent. They went 0-3 and only looked marginally dangerous on one of the man-advantages. I know I know nothing about what actually happens in NHL practices, but are the Bruins even trying to improve this powerplay? I mean, it has been over 30 games and they are still nearly last in the league, run each powerplay at half-impulse-power and look totally disorganized nearly every time out.

Maybe the Bruins need some quality time with Coach O'Connor, my Pee-Wee hockey coach, who taught our team how to run a decent umbrella-style powerplay. We got to the finals that year! Then we lost by two goals. But we had an effective powerplay! But still lost by two goals.

Regardless, Zdeno Chara looked great tonight, and the team welcomed Dennis Wideman back from injury. It turns out they didn't need a good powerplay to win, but man....it sure would be nice to say they had one anyway.

The Bruins play again on Wednesday against Atlanta, and then bundle up for the Holiday break, hoping that Santa brings them some powerplay goals.

bruins 2 - senators 1

The Bruins probably should not have had as much trouble as they did, trying to pot goals against the Senators in last night's match, but in the end, they got one more and that's how hockey games are decided.

Alex Auld was very good for the Senators, stopping multiple chances in close as the B's kept the pressure on the Sens for long stretches at a time. On the other side of the rink, Tim Thomas was tested early and often by an Ottawa club with nothing to play for but pride (and the rights to John Tavares).

As has been the case in some Bruins games this year, the B's ended up pinned in their own zone, unable to clear the puck due to arms made of surgical tubing (or something similar - possibly noodles), as Thomas literally dove around inside the crease stopping everything thrown his way. Some players looked great for the B's (Bergeron, Chara, Wheeler, Bitz), while others looked TERRIBLE (Ward, in particular, offered up awful floaters-as-clearing-attempts that kept the heat on his Bruin teammates, and sort of counter-acted that idea of experience bringing veteran leadership).

David Krejci had a good game, which is notable as he's been relatively invisible in recent games, and Michael Ryder was a force every time he was on the ice.

The win brings the Bruins to 50 wins for the season, and puts them one win away from retaining home ice advantage through the entire Eastern portion of the playoffs (should they advance that far).

Last night's game was a nail-biter, for sure, but the win marks the B's 6th in a row. Great stuff!

bruins 5 - senators 3

The Bruins had a lot more jump tonight against a resurgent Ottawa team, who had won their previous four straight games and have played far better hockey under new Coach Cory Clouston.

For their part, the Bruins returned to old form for large portions of the game. I gather there was some heat in the Boston media about how the Bruins' players let Thomas get run with impunity by Novotny in the game against the Blue Jackets, but tonight's squad played a more physical game and battled hard in the corners.

However, taking a 3-1 lead into the third period, and extending it to 4-1 while I was talking to my mother on the phone, should have put the Bruins in a less complicated position to win.

The Senators came back with two quick goals and for several minutes rolled waves of players at the B's 1-2-2 set up. Ottawa had solid chances too, but with Sens' goalie / former Bruin Alex Auld on the bench, the Bruins were mercifully able to chip it out and pot the empty net goal.

Claude Julien, on the difficulties the team had in the third period, including poor decisions that led to two goals…

"It’s not something that’s new; it’s something that players should know, and that first goal in the third that made it 4-2, we had three veteran players caught low, in between [Mark Recchi] and [Chuck] Kobasew and [Patrice Bergeron], and then we gave them almost a three-on-two, four-on-three, and they capitalized on it, so those are the kinds of things, you know, that if your third man is high, you’re not getting outnumbered in that situation, and you’re keeping the game at 4-1, and we kind of gave them some momentum. And they came back off the draw, and a quick play, and all of a sudden, it’s 4-3."

Of Note: Milan Lucic looked motivated tonight, playing on a line with David Krejci and Michael Ryder, who also showed up tonight for the first time in a bit.

bruins 4 - senators 3 (SO)

The B's squandered a 2 goal lead in last night's game against the Senators, and actually ended up trailing the Ottawa club until the final few minutes of the match.

Chuck Kobasew got the Bruins 3rd goal deep in the third period, which tied the game and sent the two teams into a scoreless overtime. Ultimately it was a shoot-out goal by PJ Axelsson that secured the win for the Bruins, but it was a wild ride getting there.

Axelsson, despite getting the shoot-out winner, had a really rough game. I noticed that he was playing big minutes for the club, playing on the top line through the first two periods, and on every powerplay, as well as his usual spot on the penalty kill. Maybe he was filling a roster spot left open by Lucic, but the increased minutes did not serve the long-time Bruin well: Axelsson was responsible for two brutal give-aways that led to two Senators goals, and basically looked shaky all night.

Here's hoping that Axelsson retains his place in the shoot-out lineup, but returns to his usual spot on the third line, for the next game.

Tim Thomas did more than keep his team in the game, stopping a few unbelievable chances, including an unreal double-pad-stack in overtime, shutting down a clear breakaway chance.

The Senators looked far more like the club everyone expected them to be this year, rather than the basement dwellers that they have become. However, the Bruins should not have had as much trouble retaining the two-goal lead, and will have to tighten up their game if they expect to beat stronger clubs in this, the run toward the playoffs.

bruins 6 - senators 4

The Bruins came out of the gates last night like a team that deserves to be in first place overall, however, by the end of the second period, they looked like a team merely hoping to stave off a third consecutive loss.

The first ten minutes of the match were absolutely dominated by the Bruins - they potted two goals in four minutes and controlled the play in the Senators zone by forechecking like mad, hitting anything that moved, and wearing down the Senators defense. They created chances and looked like a team playing with purpose.

But the Senators, to their credit, then began to play more like the team they seem to be on paper, using their speed and puck control to open up the play, and the Sens were able to tie it up at 2-all.

The second period shifted radically for the Bruins - for while they started the game in firm control, the momentum had clearly changed in the Senators' favour - mostly after a very even fight between Chris Neil and Shawn Thornton. Despite an equal number of jabs and hooks from each pugilist, the Senators really seemed to get a spark from the fight, and the Bruins continued to look sluggish. If not for some great saves from Manny Fernandez, the Bruins would have left the second period in a deficit. As it happened, they were able to get out of it locked at 3 goals apiece.

However, despite some tense moments in the third period, the B's were far more in control of their play. The sloppy passes, giveaways and choppy clearing attempts, while not as crisp and exact, more closely resembled the first period's play, and the Bruins were able to create a bit of distance between themselves and the Senators, going up 5-3.

But even then, the Bruins could not maintain their composure. The Senators kept buzzing around the net, and scored another goal with 30-ish seconds remaining. The Bruins potted an empty-net goal, but they would have looked stronger in the win had they not taken their foot off the gas.

Coach Julien offered the following after the game:
"I guess the win itself was important. The way we won it wasn’t so good. I think we’ve got a lot of things here that are challenging us. We’ve talked about some of them the other day. We certainly have some of our better players that are really struggling, finding their groove again. With the amount of injuries you have and some of your better players not playing as well as you’re used to seeing them certainly makes for a struggle."

Julien continued, "I thought our first six minutes or so of the game, the first half of the first [period] was pretty good and I thought after the fight [Thornton vs. Neil], Thornie [Thornton] stood in there and did a great job for us. Where I was disappointed is that we didn’t respond, (and) they did. That’s something that was disappointing and they kind of took the rest of the period over and came into the second and [there were] a lot of bad mistakes. If you look at the [turnover by Dennis] Wideman [that led to a Senators] goal; just forcing plays and turning pucks over. And tonight our fourth line struggled at times and gave up two goals that they should have been able to prevent. Those kinds of things put together made for a struggle."

The Bruins, it would appear, while retaining first in the League, are not yet out of the woods.

The B's next game is Saturday afternoon, at home, against the Hurricanes.